Are costumes made new for every production?

In an engagement where the bill changes monthly, making costumes anew each time would be impossible in both time and cost. In practice the rule is to restore and reuse what is in store.

In the costume companies' stores, the wardrobe of each play sleeps in maintained condition. When a staging is fixed, what is needed comes out, is altered in length and sleeve to the performing actor, repaired where worn, and returns to the stage. When the run closes it goes back to store after its maintenance. This cycle repeats across decades.

So several generations may pass through the same sleeves: a garment a father wore is altered and worn by his son, and then by his son. The costume itself becomes a record of stage history. Seen that way, it becomes clear why making new is special. A brand-new koshirae made for one occasion, at a name-succession, carries the sense of a declaration that a new history begins here. Because reuse is the norm, making anew acquires meaning. New garments are also made when a new kabuki work creates a role without precedent, and when an existing costume has reached the end of its repair.